Yankee Stadium Engulfed in a Smoky Haze as MLB Weighs Status of Wednesday’s Game

Air quality has reached dangerous levels across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic as a smoky haze has engulfed the two regions of the United States due to the ongoing wildfire disaster in eastern Canada.

The air quality is so poor in parts of the Northeast that baseball games on Wednesday night are at risk of postponement. The Yankees are set to host the White Sox at 7:05 p.m. ET, but scenes coming out of Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon have cast doubt on whether or not the game will be played.

Here’s the scene at Yankee Stadium just after 2 p.m. ET, courtesy of Erik Boland of Newsday.

Boland spoke with a member of the Yankees regarding the status of Wednesday night’s contest, and was told, “As of now, we are on,” in response.

Sports Illustrated‘s Stephanie Apstein noted that there is not a specific air quality index (AQI) number that automatically triggers a game postponement. The determination is made based on a combination of the AQI and the forecast of how long the conditions are expected to remain at the stadium. 

According to data from IQAir, via the New York Metro Weather Twitter account, New York City currently has an AQI of 342, by far the worst of any major city in the world at the moment. 

Because of this, officials continue to convene and evaluate whether or not the game will be played. But as of the time of this writing, as unlikely as it seems, the Yankees are still expected to play the White Sox on Wednesday night shortly after 7 p.m. ET.